Yū Aku
Yū Aku | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Hiroyuki Fukada |
| Also known as | Seijin Tamu |
| Born | 7 February 1937 Awaji Island, Hyogo, Japan |
| Died | 1 August 2007 (aged 70) Minato, Tokyo, Japan |
| Genres | Japanese pop (kayōkyoku, pop, enka, rock, folk, novelty) |
| Occupation(s) | lyricist, poet, novelist |
| Website | www.aqqq.co.jp |
Yū Aku (阿久 悠, Aku Yū) (occasionally credited as You Aku) (February 7, 1937 – August 1, 2007), was a Japanese lyricist, poet, and novelist.
He was famous for contributing lyrics to many recording artists since 1967. Mainly during the 1970s, more than 20 of them reached #1 on the Japanese Oricon chart, and 7 singles sold more than a million copies. Over a half thousand of his compositions which were released as singles have entered the Japanese record chart, and they sold in excess of 68 million copies from 1968 to 2007, making him the most commercially successful Japanese lyricist, followed by Takashi Matsumoto and Tetsuya Komuro.[1]
Throughout his 40-year career as a lyricist, Aku won the Japan Record Award five times. He was also acclaimed as a novelist, and produced several award-winning works. In 1999, Aku received the Purple Ribboned Medal of Honor from the Government of Japan, in honor of his long-term contributions to the Japanese entertainment industry.[2]
References
- ^ "Yu Aku, one of the most notable lyricists in the 20th century died". oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Original Confidence. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
- ^ "Yu Aku , aged 70, died of ureter cancer". nikkansports.com (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. Retrieved 2008-12-04.